BIOGRAPHY OF PANELISTS Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca ......Page 1 of 27 BIOGRAPHY OF PANELISTS Dr....

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BIOGRAPHY OF PANELISTS

Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti

WHO Regional Director for Africa

World Health Organisation

Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Matshidiso Moeti from Botswana the first woman WHO

Regional Director for Africa has over the past 4 years, led

the transformation of WHO Regional office for Africa into

an accountable and results driven organisation. Over this

period WHO AFRO has focused on improving health

security, universal health coverage and supporting

countries in the implementation of SDG-3. Strong

partnerships have been developed with various bilateral and

multilateral health development partners. Dr Moeti is a

public health veteran, with more than 38 years of national

and international experience.

She joined WHO’s Africa Regional Office in 1999 and has served as Deputy Regional Director,

Assistant Regional Director, Director of Noncommunicable Diseases, WHO Representative for

Malawi, Coordinator of the Inter-Country Support Team for the South and East African countries

and Regional Advisor for HIV/AIDs. She is renowned for having led WHO’s “3 by 5” Initiative in

the African Region at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, resulting in a significant increase in

access to antiretroviral drugs by HIV-infected persons. Prior to joining WHO, she worked with

UNAIDS as a Team Leader of the Africa and Middle East Desk in Geneva (1997-1999); with

UNICEF as a Regional Health Advisor for East and Southern Africa; and with Botswana’s Ministry

of Health as a Clinician and Public Health Specialist. Dr Moeti holds a degree in medicine (M.B.,

B.S) and Master’s degree in public health (MSc in Community Health for Developing Countries)

from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London and the London School

of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, respectively. She was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an Honorary Doctorate from the University

of Health & Allied Sciences, Ghana.

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Roger Cook BA GradDipBus MBA MLA

Honorable Deputy Premier

Minister for Health and Mental Health

Western Australia

Hon Roger Cook MLA is the Deputy Premier of Western Australia.

With oversight of two key portfolios in health and mental health, Roger

has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 2008, representing

the seat of Kwinana.

Prior to entering politics Roger studied Arts and Public Administration

at Murdoch University before completing a Postgraduate Diploma in

Public Relations and a Master of Business Administration at Curtin

University. He was active in campus politics and established the

National Union of Students as its first National President.

After completing his studies Roger worked for a number of Federal and

State Members of Parliament including Jim McGinty, Stephen Smith

and Senator Chris Evans in policy and electorate officer roles.

Roger is passionate about Aboriginal issues and served as the Chief Executive Officer of a number

of Aboriginal Land Councils as their Chief Executive Officer, along with a communications role

assisting industry and government to reach agreement with Aboriginal Native Title groups. He was

previously the National President of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation.

Professor Akinola Abayomi

Honourable Commissioner for Health,

Lagos State.

Nigeria

Hon. Prof. Akinola Abayomi is the Commissioner for

Health, Lagos State. He is a specialist in Internal

Medicine, Haematology, Environmental Health and

Biosecurity.

He has worked in several countries around the world. He

has held various positions in academia such as Chief

Pathologist and Head of the Division of Haematology at

the University of Stellenbosch’s Faculty of Medicine

Sciences in Cape Town, South Africa.

Prof. Abayomi is the current Chair of the H3Africa

Consortium Data and the Biospecimen Access

Committee. He is an esteemed member of the African

Academy of Science.

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Dr. Ahmed E. Ogwell OUMA

Deputy Director

Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ethiopia

Dr. Ahmed OGWELL OUMA is an accomplished international civil

servant and an expert in global health. He has competency in

governance in public health; partnerships and resource mobilization;

health security including health emergencies; the prevention and

control of NCDs; building multi-sectoral partnerships; international

co-operation across sectors; tobacco control; global health

diplomacy; and development of international instruments that impact

positively on public health. Ahmed has worked globally for public

health and has overseen implementation of country level policy in

countries in Africa. He has been a pioneer in supporting governments

in Africa to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco

Control (WHO FCTC) and other international instruments for the

prevention and control of NCDs.

Most recently, Ahmed was an Advisor in the Global Coordination Mechanism for NCDs in the

Office of the Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health in W.H.O in Geneva. Before

that he was Programme Manager for Primary Prevention of NCDs and Regional Adviser for

Tobacco Control at the WHO Regional Office for Africa. At the national level, Dr Ogwell was the

founding director for the NCDs in MoH Kenya and also established the Office for International

Health Relations.

He has expertise in how government policy can and should respond to neglected health challenges.

Having been a senior civil servant in Kenya for over a decade, he is well versed in how governments

work, competence in supporting government to achieve desirable public health goals particularly

in resource-poor settings. "I strongly believe that we should use local capacity to solve local

challenges while harnessing international experiences, knowledge and skills" He is the current

Deputy Director at Africa CDC, a technical agency of the African Union. Ahmed is an alumnus of

the University of Nairobi and the Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen in

Norway

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Prof. Sharon Fonn

Professor, Public Health.

Former Head of School,

University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Prof. Sharon Fonn is a Professor of Public Health; Former

Head of School University of the Witwatersrand, South

Africa, and Acting Dean of the Health Sciences Faculty

University of the Witwatersrand (WITS). She was President

of the Association of Schools of Public Health in Africa 2014

– 2017. In 2015 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from

the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2011 she won the

WITS Vice Chancellor’s Academic Citizenship Team Award

for “evidence of influencing academic citizenship by

enhancing communities of practice across Africa”. In 2005

she won the SA Department of Science of Technology

Distinguished Scientist Award for contribution to the quality

of life of women. She made important contributions to health

policy in South Africa; developing the cervical screening

policy, and recently was a member of the Market Inquiry in to private health care for the SA

Competition Commission, she has made important contributions to gender equity working with

international agencies. She currently co-leads CARTA.

Dr. Olusoji Adeyi

Senior Advisor for Human Development

Global Practice at the World Bank

Washington DC, United States of America

Olusoji Adeyi is currently the Senior Advisor for Human

Development and former Director of the Health, Nutrition, and

Population (HNP) Global Practice at the World Bank. Dr. Adeyi

was founding Director of the Affordable Medicines Facility-

malaria (AMFm) at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis

and Malaria. He has led many initiatives on global, regional, and

country health policies, strategies, and programs for health systems

and public health across the world. Dr. Adeyi serves as a

Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health,

the Commission on High Quality Health Systems, and the

Commission on Investing in Health. He has had responsibilities

with the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria, the World Health

Organization, UNAIDS, and Harvard School of Public Health. He has authored a number of papers

and books on service delivery, quality of care, maternal health, health financing, innovations in

development assistance for health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and chronic non-

communicable diseases. He holds degrees in medicine from the University of Ife in Nigeria, Master

of Community Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, MBA from Imperial

College London, and DrPH from the Johns Hopkins University

http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/olusoji-adeyi

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Prof. Tolib Mirzoev

Associate Professor of International Health Policy and Systems

Head of Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development

University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Dr Tolib Mirzoev is Head of the Nuffield Centre for

International Health and Development and Associate

Professor of International Health Policy and Systems at

the University of Leeds. He possesses over 20 years of

experience working with national governments,

international funders, and academia. His collaborative

research involves partners from Asia (e.g. Vietnam,

India, Bangladesh, Nepal) and Africa (e.g. Nigeria,

Ghana, Tanzania), which has been funded by UK

Research Councils (GCRF, MRC, ESRC, Research

England), European Commission, National Institute for

Health Research and other key funders. He regularly

contributes to funding panels of different research

funders and is an elected member of the Board of the

Health Systems Global. Tolib is a Fellow of UK Higher

Education Academy (FHEA) with substantial experience in teaching, supervision and examining

master’s and PhD students, guest lecturing and external examining.

Professor Tollulah Oni

co-Director, Global Diet and Activity Research group

MRC Epidemiology unit, Clinical Senior Research Fellow

Cambridge University Cambridge United Kingdom

Professor Tollulah Oni is the co-director of the Global Diet

and Activity Research Group, University of Cambridge;

Honorary Associate Professor, University of Cape Town

(UCT), and lead the Research Initiative for Cities Health and

Equity (RICHE|Africa)

As a Public Health Physician and urban epidemiologist, my

work supports a coordinated approach between science, policy

and societal role players, identifying creative and long-term

strategies to address complex urban health challenges in

rapidly growing cities. Born in Lagos, I completed my medical

training at University College London, a Masters degree in

Public Health (Epidemiology) at UCT, and a research

doctorate in Clinical Epidemiology at Imperial College

London.

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Dr. Ties Boerma

Head of the Countdown to 2030 Initiative,

University of Manitoba, Canada

Dr. Boerma has been Director of the Department of Information,

Evidence and Research (formerly the Department of Health Statistics

and Information Systems) at the World Health Organization in

Geneva, since 2004. He obtained his degree in medicine from the

University of Groningen, Netherlands, and his PhD in Medical

Demography from the University of Amsterdam. He has 30 years of

experience working in public health and research programmes in

developing countries, including 10 years in Africa.

In the US, Dr. Boerma worked for the Demographic and Health

Surveys as Health Coordinator and as Director of the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation

project, while holding an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Africa, he worked for UNICEF in primary

health care and monitoring and evaluation in eastern and southern Africa, and as technical lead of

a National Institute for Medical Research/Royal Tropical Institute Amsterdam research and

intervention project on HIV/AIDS in Mwanza, Tanzania. Dr. Boerma has published extensively on

monitoring and evaluation, health information, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health in

epidemiological, demographic, and public health journals.

Prof. Francis Omaswa

Executive Director, African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation

(ACHEST)

Former Director General for Health Services in the Ministry of Health in Uganda

Executive Director ACHEST, formerly Special Advisor to the DG of

WHO and Executive Director Global Health Workforce Alliance,

Director General of Health Services, MOH Uganda, Head Quality

Assurance program MOH, Director Uganda Heart Institute. Served five

years as Director rural community health at Ngora hospital, Uganda.

Chair Global Stop TB Board, Chair Global Fund Board Portfolio and

Procurement Committee, Chair GAVI Independent Review Committee,

President, College of Surgeons of East CentraL and Southern Africa

(COSECSA). Graduate of Makerere Medical School, Fellow Royal

College of Surgeons, Edinburgh and Ireland, New York Academy of

Medicine, Member National Academy of Medicine, USA. Laureate 3rd

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Services.

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Mazi Sam I. Ohuabunwa OFR, MON, NPOM

President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.

Former Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group

Nigeria

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa read Pharmacy in the University of Ife,

graduating in 1976 and did Postgraduate training in Business and

Organizational Management at the Columbia University, New

York, USA, and the Lagos Business School. He joined Pfizer

Products Plc in 1978 as a PSR and rose to become the

Chairman/CEO in 1993.

In 1997, he led the Management buy-over of Pfizer Inc shares in

Pfizer Products Plc, transforming the resultant company- Neimeth

International Pharmaceuticals Plc into a medium-sized Nigerian

R&D Based Pharmaceutical company. He voluntarily retired from

the company after 33 years’ service in the industry 18 years of which

were at CEO level.

Mazi Ohuabunwa is a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, the Nigerian academy of

Pharmacy, the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, the Nigerian Institute of

Management, the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Public

Relations, the Institute of Management Consultants, and the Association of Corporate Governance

Professionals of Nigeria. Sam is a Past Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Past

President, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Past Chairman, Manufacturers

Association of Nigeria, Ikeja. Past President of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce, and

currently the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.

Sam founded the Sam Ohuabunwa Foundation for Economic Empowerment in 2009, serves as the

Managing Consultant of Starteam Consult, and is on the board of several Organizations. He was

honored as a Member of the Order of the Niger, in 2001, Officer of the order of the Federal

Republic, in 2011 and a recipient of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in 2018.

Dr. Margaret Agama-Anyetei

Head of Health, Nutrition, and Population

African Union Commission, Ethiopia

Ms Margaret Agama-Anyetei (Ghana) attended Kwame Nkrumah

University of Science and Technology Kumasi, Ghana obtaining a

BSc. in Human Biology (1986), MB.CH.B in Medicine and Surgery

(1989). She obtained an M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology, University of

Ghana (1999). Previous appointments Ghana Armed Forces Medical

Services (1990-1999);Specialist Clinical Psychologist(1999-2002);

Policy Adviser HIV/AIDS, Department of Peace Keeping Operations’

Mission MONUC, DRC(2002-2006);Adviser HIV/AIDS, Security and Humanitarian, UNAIDS

regional Office(AUC and ECA),Ethiopia (2006-2007);Resident Representative UNFPA DRC

(2007-2009);Regional Advisor HIV and AIDS, East and Southern Regional Office of

UNFPA(2009-2015); Her experience is in management, advocacy, policy and strategic

development Health, Population, Nutrition, Gender, Health Economics and Humanitarian Issues.

She has worked vulnerable populations, particularly women and children's health in non-conflict,

conflict, and humanitarian Settings.

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Prof. Romain Murenzi

Executive Director, The World Academy of Sciences,

former Rwanda's Minister of Education, Science and Technology

Trieste, Italy

Prof. Romain Murenzi has been serving as the executive

director of The World Academy of Sciences for the

advancement of science in developing countries since 2011.

In 2016 he spent 14 months at UNESCO Headquarters,

directing the Division of Science Policy and Capacity

Building in the Natural Sciences sector.

Before that he served as Rwanda's Minister of Education,

Science and Technology and Scientific Research, and as

Minister in the President's Office in Charge of Science and

Technology, and Scientific Research, with responsibilities

including ICT. In 2009 he was a senior scholar at AAAS

Center for Science, Technology and Sustainable

Development; he served as director from 2010-2011.

Murenzi has BSc from National University of Burundi, MSc, and PhD from Catholic University

of Louvain in Belgium. He also holds a Master of Laws in IT and Telecommunication Laws. The

University of Johannesburg conferred upon him the honorary doctorate in recognition of his

achievements and contributions to society.

Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi

Executive Director,

African Population and Health Research Center

Nairobi Kenya.

Catherine Kyobutungi is the Executive Director of the African

Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). The Center is

a premier African institution conducting policy relevant research

on population, health and development and translating that

research into evidence for policy decisions and actions. Dr.

Kyobutungi holds a Medical degree from Makerere University,

Kampala and a Master of Science degree and PhD in

Epidemiology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She

has more than fourteen years of experience conducting research in

Africa, specifically on the epidemiology of non-communicable

diseases (NCD) and their interface with the healthcare delivery

system. Catherine has passion for evidence playing a role in

decision making. She has worked with decision makers at

different levels to make evidence count in their decisions and

supported the development of models of evidence uptake in

decision making in the African context.

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Prof. Igwe Charles Arizechukwu

Vice-Chancellor

University of Nigeria,

Nigeria

Professor Charles Arizechukwu is the Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka since May 2019. Prior to that, he

was a Professor/Consultant in the Department of Soil Sciences in

the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences; a position he held for over

Fourteen (14) years. He was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor

(Administration) on 28th April 2016 and was reappointed in 2018.

Charles Arizechukwu Igwe, a Professor of Soil Science holds a

PhD, M.Sc., and B Agric degree in Soil Science from University

of Nigeria, Nsukka. He also obtained Postgraduate Diploma in Soil

Science from Agricultural University, Norway, Ås. He was Head

of Department; Associate Dean of Faculty; Dean of Faculty and

Directors of Centres at various times. Charles was Visiting

Researcher/Professor in Universities located in Germany, Japan,

Norway, Italy, and France. Professor Igwe’ s research focuses on

the contributions of organic and mineral colloids in stability of tropical soils. He contributed

significantly in the knowledge of stability of unstable tropical soils which undergo catastrophic soil

erosion with intensive tropical rainfall. In his search to unravel inherent soil factors influencing

erodibility (K) factor of erosion models, he published some pioneering works on soil colloidal

dispersion. He is author/co-author of many peer-reviewed articles in reputable Journals of

Soil/Environmental Sciences.

He is a NORAD Fellow; Fellow of Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Germany; Regular Associate,

International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy; Fellow, Japanese Society for Promotion

of Science; Winner, University of Nigeria Vice-Chancellor’s Faculty and University Prizes

1992/93; Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering; participant in German

DAAD/DIES Deans Course 2009. Charles attracted scientific equipment donations to the

University from AvH in 2001 and 2010 He is two times recipient of Research Grant from Third

World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)

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Prof. Jeremy Nicholson

Pro-Vice Chancellor Future Health Institute

Director, Australian National Phenome Centre

Murdoch University, Western Australia

Nicholson obtained a BSc from Liverpool University (1977) and PhD

from King’s College London (1980). After a series of London

University positions (full Professor 1992) he became Head of

Biological Chemistry at Imperial College London (1998), Head of

Department of Surgery and Cancer (2009) and Director of the UK

National Phenome Centre in 2102. In 2018 he became the Director of

the Australian National Phenome Centre. Published 978 papers on

metabolic biochemistry and systems medicine and graduated 115 PhD

students. Highly-Cited Researcher in Pharmacology and Toxicology

and Cross-disciplinary fields (Clarivate H index = 125, 61000 cites,

Google H=148, 91000 cites) and has multiple national and international

medals and awards was Elected Fellow of The Royal Academy of

Medical Sciences (2010); Einstein Honorary Professor of the Chinese

Academy of Sciences (2014); Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of

Physicians (2018); Honorary Doctor of Science (2019) Hong Kong Baptist University.

Prof. Cajetan Onyedum

Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine

University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria

Professor Onyedum is a Professor of Medicine and a Consultant

Respiratory Physician. He graduated from University of

Nigeria medical school. A fellow of West African College of

Physicians and was elected a fellow of American College of

Chest Physicians in 2009.

He has research interests in lung infections management and

care. Dr Onyedum also has headed HIV treatment projects with

special research emphasis in respiratory diseases among HIV patients. A facilitator for National

HIV treatment programme workshops and updates courses and was among the technical working

group that authored the national guidelines on HIV management, facilitators manual for training

medical doctors in HIV medicine. A certified Trainer of Trainers, and Researcher with over fifty

publications in peer reviewed international and local journals of high impact. He was recently

appointed Member, Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID 19 Health Sector Response

by the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria

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Prof. Mouhamdou Guelaye Sall

Dean of thé Faculty of Health Sciences

University Hampate Ba Dakar Sénégal

Dakar, Senegal

Mohamadou Sall, PHD is a Professor of Population Studies at the Institute

for Training and Research in Population, Development and Health

Reproduction (IPDSR) of the Cheikh Diop University in Dakar, Senegal

and since May 2017, the Director of this Institute. He oversees the

following courses: Introduction to Population Studies (An

Interdisciplinary Perspective), Demographic analysis with a focus on

Mortality Analysis, Population Doctrines, Methodology of Research,

Population and Development, Population Policies and Programs, SPSS

Software. He has been involved in many studies related to maternal and

child health, community health, child protection, international migration,

fertility transition, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and education as P.I. or Co-P.I.

His credentials include a BSc in Geography (Cheikh Diop University in

Dakar, Senegal), a MSc in Demography (IFORD, Cameroon), a postgraduate diploma, and a PhD

in Population-Development-Environment Interactions (UCL, Belgium).

Dr. Githinji Gitahi, MBS

Group Chief Executive Officer,

AMREF Health Africa

Nairobi Kenya

A passionate advocate for pro-poor Universal Health Coverage,

Githinji Gitahi joined Amref Health Africa as the Global Chief

Executive Officer in June 2015. Amref Health Africa, founded in

1957, is the largest African-led international organization on the

continent and reaches more than 11 million people each year through

150 health-focused projects across 35 countries. Until his

appointment to Amref Health Africa, Dr Gitahi was the Vice

President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International.

Prior to that, Dr Gitahi was Managing Director for Monitor

Publications in Uganda as well as General Manager for Marketing

and Circulation in East Africa for the Nation Media Group. He held

progressively senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline and worked at the

Avenue Group and in the insurance industry.

Dr Gitahi is Co-Chair of the UHC2030 Steering Committee, a global

World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative for Universal Health Coverage

(UHC). He is member of the Board of Directors of The Standard Group in Kenya and was recently

appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of Safaricom Foundation. He is also a member of

the Governing Board of the Africa Centre’s for Disease Control and prevention (Africa CDC), a

specialized technical institution under the African Union. Dr Gitahi Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine

from the University of Nairobi; a master’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in

Marketing, from United States International University and has a Certificate for Strategic

Perspectives for Nonprofit Management from Harvard University. On Wednesday, December 12,

2018, Dr Githinji received a presidential commendation, ‘Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear’

(MBS) in recognition of outstanding contribution to the health sector in his continuing work at the

helm of AMREF Health Africa.

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Prof David Doepel,

Former Deputy Vice Chancellor-Research and Innovation,

Murdoch University

Chair Africa-Australia Research Forum, Perth, Western Australia

Doepel is the Chair, Africa Research Group, an Annual research forum

bringing together industry, govt, academia and civil society to explore

issues in the extractive industries. The Members of Murdoch

University’s trans-disciplinary Africa Research Group have been

focused on African research questions in some cases for more than three

decades. All members have strong ties with African-based researchers

and collaborate with African industry, academic institutions,

government agencies and NGO’s. David is the former Deputy Vice

Chancellor-Research and Innovation, Murdoch University Responsible

for the research enterprise of the university across the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities

Nwadiuto Esiobu Ph.D.

Professor, Microbiology and Biotechnology

Florida Atlantic University

Jefferson Science Fellow, US Department of State, United States

Prof Esiobu is a distinguished academic, senior corporate executive

and astute leader with proven track records in building scientific

enterprises, international policy, and strategic alliances for

development

As the Director of the Microbial Biotechnology laboratory at Florida

Atlantic University, she integrates environmental genomics and

health risk assessment, with rapid pathogen detection using synthetic

biology, providing solutions to health and ecosystem sustainability

challenges.

Prof Esiobu has served in senior professional leadership roles,

including selection panel for the US President’s award for

excellence and more than 11 years on the Board of the American

Society for Microbiology. In 2011, she was selected by the National Academy of Sciences as a

senior science advisor to Secretary Clinton’s office of Global Food Security and the Office of

International Health and Biodefense / Environmental Affairs (OES/IHB), State Dept. Awards:

Faculty of distinction; Outstanding Diaspora. Fluent in French

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Prof. Alex Ezeh

Dornsife Professor of Global Health

Dornsife School of Public Health

Drexel University, United States

Alex Ezeh is Dornsife Professor of Global Health at Drexel University

and was distinguished visiting fellow at the Center for Global

Development. Professor Ezeh was the founding executive director of the

African Population and Health Research Centre and he initiated and

directed the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, a

program that seeks to strengthen doctoral training, research, and faculty

retention at African universities. Prof. Ezeh’s work focuses on slum

health, population dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa, and models to

strengthen knowledge-based institutions in Africa. Prof. Ezeh has a PhD

in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania and is the recipient

of the 2018 TWAS Prize for the Social Sciences.

Ms. Margareth Ndomondo-Sigonda, M.Sc., M.B.A.

Head of Health Program

African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)

South Africa

Ms. Margareth Ndomondo-Sigonda heads Health Program at

AUDA-NEPAD since September 2016 served as Pharmaceutical

Coordinator since March 2010. Responsible for coordination of

health and pharmaceutical programs including the African

Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) Initiative, the

establishment of African Medicines Agency (AMA) and

promotion of local production of medical products as part of the

African Union Health Strategy (2016-2030) and Pharmaceutical

Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA) policy frameworks.

Served as Chief Pharmacist (1998), Registrar of Pharmacy Board

(1998-2003) and the first Director General of the Tanzania Food

and Drugs Authority (2003-2010); Ministry of Health and Social

Welfare, Tanzania. Holds MSc in Pharmaceutical Services & Medicines Control, University of

Bradford, United Kingdom; MBA, Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute-Tanzania/

Maastricht School of Management-Netherlands; and bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, University of

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of the

Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Prof. Chris Smith

British consultant virologist and lecturer; fellow of Queens' College,

Cambridge University

United Kingdom

British consultant virologist and a lecturer based at Cambridge

University where he is a fellow of Queens' College. He is also a

science radiobroadcaster and writer, and presents the Naked Scientists, a

programme which he founded in 2001, for BBC Radio and other networks

internationally, as well as 5 live Science on BBC Radio 5 Live. Also, a Sir

Walter Murdoch Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University

Prof. Ementa Hyacinth Ichoku

Vice Chancellor - Veritas University, Abuja.

Former Acting Director Academic Planning

University of Nigeria, Nsukka Nigeria

Prof. Ementa Hyacinth Ichoku is Professor of Economics with the

Department of Economics University of Nigeria, Nsukka, currently

on leave to Veritas University, Abuja. He is a Development Micro-

economist with strong interest in Health Economics, Public Finance

and Environment. He has had intensive and diverse range of

experience in the last 20 years teaching, researching, publishing, and

consulting on public finance and health sector specific financing

issues in Nigeria as evidenced in the details below. Prof Ichoku

academic training started with degrees in philosophy and Divinity in

1984 and 1988, respectively. Since 1998 he has focused mainly on

economics special interest in applied development microeconomics

and Health Economics in which he obtained a master’s and Ph.D.

degrees from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2000 and

2006, respectively. Has published over 40 papers in international peer

reviewed journals in the fields of health economics and development

microeconomics. Prof Ichoku has won several research grants from national and international

organizations including the Poverty and Policy Research Network, Supported by IDRC Canada,

Nigerian Communication Commission, African Economic Research Consortium, National

Research Foundation – South Africa, among others. Consulted for the World Bank, USAID, DFID,

EU, WHO-AFRO, IDRC, Results for Development (USA)

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Dr. Funmi Adewara

Founder and CEO

MobileHealth International

London, United Kingdom

Funmi Adewara is a UK based Physician and Cambridge trained

Bioscience Entrepreneur of Nigerian heritage with a fifteen-year

background in Clinical Medicine, Pharmaceutical and Business

Development. She is passionate about changing the poor narrative of

Africa's healthcare ecosystem leveraging technology. Her Start-up

company, Mobihealth’s mission is to leverage technology to make

affordable and quality UHC a reality across Africa to the last mile. She

has been recognized locally and Internationally.

In November 2019, Mobihealth was recognized as an inclusive and

sustainable business model that aligns with SDG-3 during the

UNCTAD CSTD 2019–2020 Inter-sessional Panel on “Harnessing rapid technological change for

inclusive and sustainable development”. The Findings and recommendations of the Panel were

expected to be considered at the 23rd session of the CSTD to be held in March 2020.

Most recently, she emerged one of the five winners of the Sanofi AfricaTech challenge, amongst

268 contestants, 11 Finalist across 34 Countries on the continent. She also won in the African

Female Tech Founders (FTF) Award sponsored by the UK government and shortlisted as a Finalist

for the World Bank SDG & Her and the Africa VS Virus Award. There is currently no blueprint

for the adoption of Telemedicine across most of the African countries and with telemedicine

playing a significant role in healthcare access, it now urgent that policies/guidelines are developed

and expedited for patient safety and for AU to embrace and drive the adoption of frontier digital

health innovations to the grassroot, put requisite digital broadband infrastructures in place in order

not to widen the existing digital divide between the rich and the poor.

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Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe

Lecturer/Researcher

University of Nigeria,

Nigeria

Professor Obinna Onwujekwe is medically qualified

but also has MSc and PhD in Health Economics. He is

a Professor of Health Economics & Policy at the

University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, the Director of

Research in the University, the Coordinator of the

Health Policy Research Group, and the President of the

Nigerian Health Economics Association. He is also the

Director of the Nigerian National Centre on Health

Systems, which is part of the African Health

Observatory Platform (AHOM) on Health Systems. He

is currently a Professor of Health Economics & Policy

and Pharmacoeconomics & Pharmacoepidemiology at

the University of Nigeria. He was a member of the Resilient and Responsive Health Systems

(RESYST) Consortium that did some extensive work on the issue of health system resilience. He

was also a member of the Consortium on Health Policy. Prof. Onwujekwe has extensive expertise

in investigating and finding solutions to weaknesses in various aspects of health systems in both

Nigeria and the broader Sub-Sahara Africa. He has consulted widely for many national and

international organizations and has working experiences in Nigeria, Sudan, Malawi, South Sudan,

Oman, and the UK. He has published more than 300 academic and policy papers,

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Obinna_Onwujekwe.

Mr. Simons Bright

President mPedigree

Accra Ghana

Ghana

Bright Simons is the President of mPedigree

[ww.mpedigree.com], a social enterprise working on three

continents with governments, Fortune 500 companies and

activists to safeguard human health and food security using

technology. A career inventor and innovator, his current projects

include vaccine quality detection using novel organo-sensors. He

is also a Board-level Advisor, with recent appointments to the

Microsoft Africa Advisory Council, the Lancet Commission on

the Future of Health in Africa, the Center for Global

Development's Study Group on Technology, the World Economic

Forum's Africa Strategy Group, Care International, the Africa

Population Health Research Center, and IC Publications, owner of

the New African magazine. He is a WEF YGL, TED Fellow,

Aspen Braddock Fellow, and the 2016 CNBC African Innovative

Business Leader of the Year. In 2016, Fortune magazine named him on their 50 World Greatest

Leaders List

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Obinna_Onwujekwe

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Dr Amit N Thakker

Executive Chairman of Africa Health Business,

President of Africa Healthcare Federation

Nairobi, Kenya

Dr. Amit N. Thakker, is a medical doctor and has been

a groundbreaking pioneer in the integration of private

sector within the health system in Africa.

He is the Executive Chairman of Africa Health

Business, President of Africa Healthcare Federation,

Chairman of the Kenya Healthcare Federation and

currently serves as a Director with LumiraDx &

Ghanima Limited. He Chairs the University of

Nairobi Alumni Medical Chapter, & sits as an advisor

to Eastern Africa Association as well as to Asia Africa

Investing & Consulting ltd

Dr Thakker founded Avenue Healthcare, a Kenyan

based integrated private health service provider in

1995 which led him to receive the “Best Male

Entrepreneur of the year” award by Rotary International in 1999. He also won the “Best CEO”

award by Titans Global in the Business & Professional Services category in 2017 & proudly

received the Chairman’s Award by Kenya Medical Association in 2004.

Dr. Bahati Moseti

Emergency Physician

Telemedicine expert in rural and remote Australia

Member of African Diaspora in Australia.

Australia.

Dr. Bahati Moseti is an Emergency Physician based in Perth, Western

Australia, where he is the Director of Emergency Medicine at Peel

Health Campus, Western Australia. He is also a Clinical Consultant in

Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS) and at the

Emergency Telehealth Service (ETS).

Originally from Kenya, he studied Medicine at the University of

Nairobi. In 2005, he migrated to Australia where he specialised in

Emergency Medicine and is a Fellow of the Australasian College for

Emergency Medicine (FACEM).

His interests include Rural and Remote Medicine and the provision of

Emergency Services to these communities via Telehealth. He is also

active in teaching and mentoring future Emergency Physicians both in Australia and Africa. Dr.

Moseti is keen to ensure his experience in providing Telehealth services to rural communities in

Australia, will be applied for innovative solutions in Africa.

of 27

Pamela Suzanne Drameh

Coordinator - External Relations, Partnerships and Governing Bodies unit (EPG)

WHO Regional Office for Africa


Pamela Drameh is currently the Coordinator of the External

Relations, Partnerships and Governing Bodies unit (EPG) of the

WHO Regional Office for Africa. Prior to joining the Regional

Office in April 2016, Pamela served as the Senior External

Relations Officer for the Health Systems and Services cluster in

WHO HQ. From 1999 to 2003, as the NGO Coordinator for

Onchocerciasis Control in Geneva, she coordinated the activities of

NGOs in relation with the African Programme for Onchocerciasis

Control.

Previously, she served as the Regional Director, West Africa for Sightsavers, a UK-based

international charity working to combat blindness in the developing world and promote equal

opportunities for visually impaired people. Prior to this, she worked as a Consultant within the UK

health sector.

Prof. Rhonda Marriott

Pro Vice Chancellor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership.

Centre Director

Murdoch University, Australia

Professor Rhonda Marriott AM is a senior Indigenous

research leader with extensive experience in community co-

design and community involvement in health-related

projects. A descendent of Nyikina people of the Kimberley

Region of Western Australia she is Pro Vice Chancellor of

Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Leadership at Murdoch

University and Centre Director of the Ngangk Yira Research

Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity. She has led

a 5-year long NHMRC partnership research project to

identify barriers to improving the cultural security maternity

services experiences for Aboriginal women in Western Australia. With over 5 decades in nursing

and midwifery and 3 decades in universities, she has robust political, professional, and clinical

connections across Australia. She is a strong advocate for co-designed translational research and

of three-way learning between Aboriginal community members, health professionals and

researchers as critical for knowledge translation of research findings, and to the benefit and

sustainability of those.

of 27

Dr. Nihinlola Mabogunje

Team Leader-Support to National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP2/MC).

Senior Policy Advocacy Advisor- Palladium Integrated Health Project, Health Policy Plus

Nigeria

Medical doctor with Masters’ in Public health and has been in leadership

positions both in the public and private sectors. She has over 20 years’

experience working on programs and projects that relates to improving

Maternal and Child health. Her experience varies from system

strengthening in the public and private sectors of Nigeria to engagement

of citizen using evidence framework to conduct advocacy and

accountability to improve the system. The areas she has worked on

include Malaria, Immunization with Polio, Reproductive health and

Rights, Family Planning, Nutrition. Contributed to passage of Violence

Against Persons Prohibition Act. Led a team that researched on

constraints and incentives affecting delivery of social services in Nigeria.

Well acquainted several international agencies such as USAID, The

Global Fund, MacArthur, Ford Foundation, DFID, European Union, and Anonymous donors.

Earlier on in her career she served Kano State government in the capacity of Medical Doctor.

Prof. Ashiwel S. Undieh

Professor, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine

City University of New York, City College

United State of America

Dr. Ashiwel Undieh is a tenured Medical Professor of Cellular and

Molecular Biomedical Sciences with specialization in

Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the CUNY School of Medicine.

His research focuses on dopamine signaling to the epigenome and

functional neuroplasticity and is applicable toward improved

diagnostics and therapeutics for mitigating major depression,

preventing drug addiction, or promoting post-traumatic

neuroregeneration. He recently completed a term of service as Vice

President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies

at the City University of New York, City College. As the

institution’s chief research officer, he created and implemented

strategies to strengthen the research enterprise comprised of

disparate disciplines ranging from humanities and social sciences to engineering and medicine. He

also led the development of innovative interdisciplinary graduate programs that address current

training and workforce needs. Previously, Prof. Undieh founded the pharmaceutical sciences

department at Thomas Jefferson University, which grew within five years to earn a national

research ranking of 45 out of 128 such programs. Prof. Undieh has a PhD in Pharmacology from

the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

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Dr Ana Rita Sequeira

Academic Chair of the Health Administration, Policy and Leadership program

Lecturer in Health Policy

Murdoch University, Murdoch, Perth, Australia

Dr Ana Rita Sequeira is the Academic Chair of the

Health Administration, Policy and Leadership

program and a Lecturer in Health Policy at

Murdoch University. Sequeira’s unique profile

combines experience in complex study design and

analysis and applied health economics and policy

to inform policymaking. She has been involved

with research using population-based linked data to

study health outcomes of marginalised populations

and health service utilisation, as well as lead and

collaborates with inter and multi-disciplinary

research team on refugee health. Other areas of research interest include value-based health care

and health systems research in resourced-limited countries. Her contributions include academic

publications, media clips, working and advising government, private and non-government

organisations in Australia, Mozambique, and East-Timor.

Dr. Prosper Tumusiime

Acting Director, Universal Health Coverage & Life Cycle, Cluster,

WHO Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organisation


Dr Prosper Tumusiime is a medical doctor with postgraduate

training in public health and Epidemiology. He has had extensive

experience in health systems and services at all levels, local,

national, and international. He has worked with Governments and

partners in countries in development of heath policies, strategies,

and supported capacity building at sub-national level. work

currently focuses on improving health service delivery in the context

of Universal For the last 2 years, he has worked at Director level

overseeing the Departments of Health Systems and Services

Development and Universal Health Coverage & Lifecycle at the

WHO Regional Office for Africa. Prior to this, he was a Regional

Advisor for District Health Systems and for Service Delivery

Systems for 18 years.

of 27

Prof. Elaine Holmes

Premier's Fellow in Molecular Phenomics

Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical


A distinguished computational biologist and Highly Cited Scholar,

Professor Holmes has been appointed the 2018 WA Premier’s

Fellow in Phenomics. She will be progressing research on maternal

and infant health, liver and gastrointestinal disease and metabolic

diseases such as diabetes, and dementia. She is a Fellow of the UK

Academy of Medical Sciences and was Head of the Division of

Computational and Systems Medicine at Imperial College London.

Key insights around nutrition and health. Highest cited female

scientist in Australia.

Prof. Irene Agyepong

Director, RDD/Lecturer/Researcher, Ghana Health Service.

University of Ghana School of Public Health

Ghana

Irene Akua Agyepong is a public health physician from Ghana

employed by the Ghana Health Service. She is serving for two years

as full-time faculty in the Department of Health Policy, Planning, and

Management at the University of Ghana’s School of Public Health,

where she has taught part-time for over a decade. Prior to this she

was Regional Director of Health Services in the Ghana Health

Service Greater Accra region from 2004 to 2012.

She was Professor to the Prince Claus Chair in Development and

Equity from 2008 to 2010 at the University of Utrecht in the

Netherlands, Dr. Agyepong has an MBChB from the University of Ghana Medical School, a Master

of Public Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Part I of the West Africa College

of Physicians and Surgeons in Public Health, and a doctorate in Public Health from the University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

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Prof. David Morrison

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation),


Professor David Morrison is the Deputy Vice Chancellor

(Research and Innovation) at Murdoch University, Perth

Western Australia. Prior to appointment at Murdoch

University he was a Winthrop Professor at the University of

Western Australia and Head of School of Psychology in the

Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences. Other academic

appointments (in reverse chronology) have been held in

Schools of Psychology at the University of Queensland,

Murdoch University and the University of Wales Institute of

Science and Technology and the University of St. Andrews

in Scotland. In his current role he is spearheading a radical

research new strategy focused on Health, Food, and the

environment, and heavily invested in infrastructure and

people. A registered Organizational Psychologist holding

postgraduate degrees from the Universities of Sheffield (Masters) and Wales (PhD) in the UK. His

publication outputs cover diverse fields from ergonomics, industrial process control to economics

and safety science to human resource management, clinical psychology, and fundamental

psychological research. David sits on the steering committee of the Australia Africa Universities

Network (AAUN) and is the Vice President of the Australia China Business Council (WA). Board

Memberships include: Pawsey Supercomputer Centre, National Centre for Excellence in

Desalination and the WA Animal Resources Authority, West Australian Marine Sciences Institute,

and the Raine Study

Prof. Benjamin Uzochukwu

Professor, Public Health Physician

University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu campus, Nigeria

Prof. Benjamin Ugochukwu is a Public Health Physician at the University

of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu and Professor of Public Health, Health

Policy and Systems, University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he was the

foundation Director of the Institute of Public Health. He has acted as policy

adviser and consultant to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health, ECOWAS

and WAHO in various areas of the health systems. His area of work includes

Health policy and systems research and analysis, implementation research,

getting research evidence into policy and practice, and realist evaluation of

health programmes.

He is a foundation and executive member of the Association of Schools of Public in Africa, former

board member, Health System Global and currently the National Chairman Association of Public

Health Physicians of Nigeria, Director, Grants and Research, West African College of Physicians

and Member, Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response in

Nigeria

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Mr Genadiev Ivan

Kingdom Managing Director & COO

Alta Semper Capital

London United Kingdom

Ivan has more than 15 years of operating, investment, and advisory

experience in emerging markets. Prior to Alta Semper, he served as

Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce at Jumia (NYSE:JMIA) across

high-growth African countries, spearheading day-to-day operations

management as well as strategic initiatives in margin enhancement,

process restructuring, and product development. As Founder of Teres

Capital, Ivan deployed early-stage technology capital and executed

mergers & acquisitions across frontier European markets. He started his

professional career as an investment banker in New York, advising on

transactions in the technology, media, and telecom sector across the United States, Europe, Asia,

and South America. Ivan holds a BA with distinction in International Relations from the University

of Pennsylvania. He speaks English, German, and Bulgarian and is based between London and

Lagos.

Dr. Humphrey Cyprian Karamagi

Health Systems Development specialist,

WHO Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organization


Dr. Humphrey Karamagi is a Health Systems

Development specialist. He has experience and

expertise in Public Health, and Health Sector Reforms

in Africa, which he has achieved through working in

various capacities in Government and in the UN at

national, and sub national levels over the past 20 years.

His current interest is the transformation of data to

analytical and knowledge products that can guide

decision making by policy makers for UHC and other

health related SDG targets. At present, he is the Team

Leader for Data, Analytics and Knowledge

Management at the WHO Regional office for Africa.

Twitter: @karamagih Linkedin:

www.linkedin.com/in/karamagih

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karamagih

of 27

Prof. Abdoulaye Djimdé, FAAS, FMAS

CAMES Professor, Parasitology-Mycology.

Director, MRTC-Parasito Malaria Research and Training Center

Faculty of Pharmacy University of Science, Techniques and Technology of

Bamako, Mali

Abdoulaye Djimde received a PharmD degree from Ecole

Nationale de Medecine et de Pharmacie of Bamako, Mali

in 1988, a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from

University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA in

2001 and is Associate Professor of Parasitology-Mycology

since 2012. He is currently Head of the Molecular

Epidemiology and Drug Resistance Unit of the Malaria

Research and Training Center, University of Science,

Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Mali. The

primary goal of his research is to understand how the

malaria parasite becomes resistant to antimalarial drugs and

how that resistance spreads over time and space. With his

team and collaborators, he conducts field and laboratory

based analyses to explore how genetic events in the malaria

parasite, the human host and the mosquito vector’s genomes relate to treatment outcome and the

spread of drug resistance.

In addition to his own research, he was instrumental in the formation of the Worldwide

Antimalarial Drug Resistance Network and served on its Scientific Advisory Board for several

years. He was appointed as Chair of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Task Force within

WHO-TDR. In 2009, he was appointed as one of two International Fellows at the Wellcome

Trust Sanger Institute. He currently serves as coordinator of the West African Network for

Clinical Trials of Antimalarial Drugs (WANECAM) and Leader of the Plasmodium Diversity

Network-Africa (PDNA). He is the Founding President of the African Association for research

and control of AntiMicrobial Resistance (AAAMR, www.africaamr.org). He has co-authored

over 135 peer reviewed scientific publications

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Djimde+a.%2C).

of 27

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP STAFF

Prof. Kevin Chika URAMA, FAAS

Senior Director,

African Development Institute (ADI)

African Development Bank Group

Kevin Chika URAMA, FAAS is currently the Senior Director of the

African Development Institute at the African Development Bank Group,

responsible for shaping and leading the bank-wide capacity

development in the Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to accelerate

delivery of the High 5 priorities of the Bank, the SDGs and Agenda

2063. He is also an elected Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences

(AAS); a Distinguished Professor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka;

an Extra-Ordinary Professor in the School of Public Leadership,

Stellenbosch University, South Africa; an Adjunct Professor at the Sir

Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs,

Murdoch University, Western Australia; an Expert Partner of the Africa Progress Group Chaired

by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and was Visiting Professor at the Department of Science,

Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London. Prior to his appointment

as Senior Director of the African Development Institute, he was Senior Advisor to the President of

the African Development Bank Group on Inclusive and Green Growth – Strategy, Policy

Development, and Implementation. Kevin has held various executive leadership positions in the

academia, international organizations, the private sector, and is currently in a multilateral

development bank. Prior to joining the African Development Bank, he was the inaugural Managing

Director of the Quantum Global Research Lab established in Zug, Switzerland; former Executive

Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) established in Nairobi Kenya;

Director of Research and Training of the ATPS; Senior Research Fellow at the Macaulay Land Use

Research Institute established in Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Deputy Chairman of the OMFIF

Economists Network, and inaugural President of the African Society for Ecological Economics.

Kevin holds a Ph.D. in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. He

won the 2002-2003 James Claydon Prize for the most outstanding Ph.D. thesis in economics or

related fields at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge. He was named the Technology

Executive of the Year by the Africa Technology Awards in 2012. He has published in various

media and has served on / contributed to many international and inter-governmental scientific

panels/reports including the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC); Green Growth

Best Practice (GGBP); the International Resource Panel (IRP); the OECD Green Growth and

Poverty Reduction Task Team; the UNESCO Governing Board of the International Research and

Training Centre for Science and Technology Strategy (CISTRAT), Beijing, China; and the Green

Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) Advisory Committee; the High-Level Panel on Global

Assessment of Resources for implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020; among

others. He serves on various boards and global research committees to deliver inclusive green

growth and sustainable development.

of 27

Dr. Martha Phiri,

Director, Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development

African Development Bank

Dr. Martha Phiri is Director Human Capital, Youth, and skills

development. In her role she also oversees the health and social

protection program of the Bank. Previously, she worked as

Country Manager for the African Development Bank in Rwanda

and as Country Economist for Malawi, Mauritius, and Namibia.

As Country Manager she led Bank teams in policy dialogue with

the government, development partners, private sector, and civil

society. As Country Economist she was responsible for

preparing Country Strategy Papers (CSP), Country Policy and

Institutional Assessments (CPIA), Country Risk Assessments

(CRA) and African Economic Outlook country notes. Prior to

joining the Bank, Mrs. Phiri worked as an economist in the

Malawi Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning and

Development. A Commonwealth Scholar, Mrs. Phiri holds a PhD

in Economics from University of Liverpool and a Master of

Science in Agricultural Economics from University of Malawi

Dr. Eric K. Ogunleye

Advisor to the Chief Economist & Vice President

Economic Governance and Knowledge Management

African Development Bank Group

Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire

Dr. Eric Ogunleye is the Advisor to the Vice President and Chief

Economist of the African Development Bank. Has over 15 years of

progressively responsible, practical and demonstrable hands-on

experience as macroeconomist, development economist, M&E

specialist, public governance and regulatory reform expert, policy

advisor and project director and manager with work experiences

straddling all research and policy advisory divides: international

development; private sector; government; non-governmental

institutions; and academic. Former Special Assistant (International

Trade and Finance) to the President of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the

Chief Economic Adviser to the President of Nigeria and more recently

as Technical Adviser (Policy and Planning) to the Honorable Minister of

Budget and National Planning. He was a core member of the team that crafted the Nigeria’s

Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. Earlier, he had stints in key institutions: UNCTAD, UNU-

WIDER, World Trade Organization, and African Center for Economic Transformation. Eric holds

Ph.D. from University of Ibadan through the prestigious AERC collaborative PhD. Program

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Mrs. Kwamina-Badirou Kamaria

African Development Institute (ADI),

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Mrs. Kamaria Badirou-Kwamina is Team Assistant for the

Policy Management Division of the African Development

Institute. Before joining the African Development Bank, Mrs.

Kamaria Badirou-Kwamina worked as Operations Associate at

the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during

the period 2014 to 2016. In this role, she provided

administrative, budget, finance, logistics and procurement

support to the UN Agencies Operations Management Team.

She also coordinated UNDP conferences, workshops and

seminars and was often called upon to support the Human

Resources department where she was charged with national and

international staff placements, salary reviews and recruitments.

Before taking on this responsibility she was recruited as

Administrative Assistant at the Operations Department charged

with budget and financial management of five UN Agencies

and administrative support to the Senior Management Team

during the period 2012 to 2014. Mrs. Kamaria Badirou-Kwamina is enrolled in master’s in business

administration (MBA). She is holder of a bachelor’s in communication from Pigier Côte d’Ivoire.

(The People Voice)

Dr. Njeri Wabĩri,

African Development Institute (ADI),

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Dr Njeri Wabĩri is a Consultant with African Development Institute of the

Africa Development Bank Group working on Public Service delivery

Index - a holistic measure of public service delivery across all sectors in

the Regional member countries (RMCs) in Africa, in line with the Bank

High 5s, the SDGs and Africa Agenda 2063.

A Statistician applying mixed methods approach (data and measurements,

geospatial analytics, econometrics and systems) to integrate complex

survey data and administrative level data in policy and decision-making-

helping citizens and decision makers make better choices. Lead in

development of regional policies, standards, and guidelines on prevention of mother to child

transmission of HIV/AIDS and HIV counselling and testing, adopted by the SADC member states

in 2009. Wabĩri has had a 15 years stint in International research institutions: as Chief Research

Manager of the Human sciences Research Council (HSRC); Specialist Analysts with Financial

and Fiscal commission (FFC) of South Africa; and Senior Research Assistant with the International

centre of insect physiology and ecology(icipe) among others. Previously consulted for Global Fund

against HIV, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and UNU-WIDER and Pact Lesotho.

A member of the DELTAS AFRICA sub-Saharan Consortium for Advanced Bio statistical training

in Africa. Wabiri holds a PhD (Statistics), MBA- University of Cape Town, and is a fellow of the

Organisation of Women Scientist in Developing World (OSWD).

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